Survival and Hope
by FairyNiamh
Summary: The only way they are going to survive Tarsus IV is through hope, luck, and determination. (Happy Ending)


Beta'd by: DrivvenWrinth. Written for Dante_s_hell. Story revolves around Tarsus IV and basic survival.

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Jim lay in the bed listening to his mother and stepfather. He was young, but he was far from ignorant. He knew several things. He was in an advanced placement class for a reason.

He knew that Sam, his brother; was on Earth with his grandparents. He knew his mother resented him for being born on the day his father had died. He knew that Frank was not related to him and more than that, he hated Jim more than he hated Vulcans; which was a lot. The man blamed a lot on the Vulcans and their suppression. Still, he blamed Jim even more.

"We need to be rid of him," He heard Frank hiss to his mother.

Jim could have sworn he could hear his mother's eyes roll. "He's a child. What harm could he cause?"

"Kodos is targeting families with small children. I know the little shit thinks he's smarter than everyone else, but I will not allow him to kill us as he killed his father. We need to live; you need to live. Think of Sam. How would he react if he lost you? The death of George put him into a depression, he doesn't even like Jim. So, there will be no tears shed over his death." Frank hissed the truth.

That was another thing that Jim knew, he would not be missed if he were lost in the mess Kodos had created. Jim had heard that there were lists of people that Kodos planned to dispose of, those who could not contribute to the future of the colony. Jim had read of lists like this made on Earth long ago. People that the leaders thought were evil; the reason for the downfall of society, useless, and couldn't contribute. People who made lists like that were evil. That was the only word Jim could think of to describe them.

He knew that the fields were failing, he had told Kodos himself, and he told him how long they would last. Four months tops, if rationed well. However, if they put in a call to the Federation they would only need to last three months. Kodos had patted his head and said that everything was in order.

Jim should have known not to trust the man. At the time, when Kodos walked away, Jim had wanted to sneak into the communications room and send out an S.O.S. He cursed himself for not going with his gut instinct.

Now he was listening to Frank talk his mother into getting rid of him, and surely his mother would. He was a troubled child, after all.

"We can lead him out into the forest and leave him there. If it were like the past, we could have sold him for food, but there is no chance of that now. We need to think of us first, if you want a second child so badly, we can adopt. No one would say no to the widow of the Kelvin Hero. We will have to wait a few years and we can get a child who will be happy to have this life, a child who was not born of death, a child who does not carry the devil in his very soul. Please Winnie, please," the fat man pleaded.

"Tomorrow, at daybreak, we will send him out to the forest to look for mushrooms. I will take away his gadgets and he will be lost to the forest. Perhaps he will come upon a starving beast who will have him for dinner. It would be a kinder death than starvation," Winona's voice was cold and froze Jim to his very marrow.

He needed to leave and he needed to leave tonight. Once he was sure that the two adults were asleep, Jim slipped out of bed and secured as much food as he could. He had often thought of leaving home, but he always thought it would be on Earth. He had family on Earth, he had friends, and there were places he could seek safety.

Here on Tarsus, he was alone, in more ways than one. He grabbed some warm clothes, a blanket, a knife from the kitchen, and a broken phaser. Jim hoped that he would be able to pilfer parts to repair it. He needed to protect himself from Kodos' men and Frank; and possibly his mother.

He left a note simply saying 'Mom, I love you,' because he did. For all her faults and all her flaws, she was his mother and he loved her. He slipped out into the night, though he did not go far. He stopped just beyond the tree line behind their housing unit. He, perhaps stupidly, hoped that his mother would cry out for him once she saw his note.

She did not; she smiled and then hugged Frank. Well, perhaps he had asked for all of this the day he was born. With tears running down his face, he made his way further into the forest toward the mountain in the middle. He would not run into a bear or any other dangerous animals as his mother had suggested. The Federation had made sure there were no dangerous animals allowed while they were terraforming the planet.

In a way that was a pity, animals such as those would have provided meat for the people. Which would have meant longer food rations for them as well. He just hoped that he would make out all right out here in the wild. The odds were not in his favor. He was more of a computer nerd than a wilderness survivor.

He didn't bother with being quiet as he walked deeper into the woods. Kodos' men were still busy in town gathering people up for the planned slaughter. Jim felt bad for them, he did. He also hoped that others might make their way out into the woods. If there was no one else here things would get very lonely for him, very quickly.

He finally arrived at the mountain and began to climb. About a quarter of the way up, he finally had to stop. He had not eaten that morning and it was well after noon; he was hungry. He carefully nibbled on the bread he had pilfered from home. He could not eat it the way he used to, he needed to learn to stretch it out as far as he could, because he did not know when help would come.

In all honesty he was not truly optimistic that the Federation would come before their scheduled round. That was not for another six months. That would be far too late to stop Kodos, too late to help the people who needed it; including him.

After drinking a few sips of water and eating a few mouthfuls of bread he got up and made his way further up the mountain. He needed to find a cave to stay in for the night. There might not be dangerous animals, but there were dangerous people.

It was his luck that an older boy occupied the first cave he came upon, a frown marring his handsome features. "Why are you here?" the boy asked him gruffly.

"Hiding," Jim answered honestly, even as he readied to run in case the boy in front of him turned hostile.

The older boy just looked suspicious. "Why?"

Jim wasn't sure he wanted to tell this stranger anything, but he was a social creature and the thought of being alone on this mountain made his chest ache. So, he opened up and told him as much as he felt comfortable with. Which, oddly enough, was a comfort to Jim.

He surprised himself by including everything he told Kodos and his fears. It felt good to get it off his chest.

"Sounds like a fairy tale. You going to try to find your way home like Hansel and Gretel did?" the older boy smirked as he asked the ridiculous question.

"How about you? You going to fatten me up and try to eat me?" Jim asked in a matching tone.

The older boy shuddered at his words. "That sounds wrong coming from you."

Jim sighed and asked; "Look, are you going to turn me into Kodos or his men?"

"No, I came here to study medicine, not to be a part of genocide."

"That could come in handy. I didn't think that Kodos put doctors on the list."

The older boy just shook his head and relaxed a bit. "I'm not a doctor, not yet. I was just here to study rural medicine. My dad insisted I come here by myself for the summer. See if I could handle being away from home and medicine before I settled on it fully. I was doing well, or I thought I was. Right now though, I am a liability. Kodos gathered all the pre-med and the local brains; he had us answer questions. He wanted to know the best and least painful way for someone to die. We just thought it was another test. 'In their sleep.' I told him, because it's true. I never knew the bastard would take it a step further. Who in their right mind builds gas chambers to murder people? I-I thought that was a nightmare of Earth's atrocious history, but here we go again."

"Not your fault. Shit happens to all of us. Hey, just think, at least your parents weren't bemoaning days past so they could sell you, or ready to discard you with little to nothing to go with. You thought you were doing the right thing. I did worse, so much worse than you," Jim confessed as he hung his head.

"I doubt there can be anything worse than telling a monster the best way for people to die."

"How about telling the monster to prepare for the worst? It was on my word that this nightmare started. The crops were failing and I predicted when food would run out, if rationed. I also suggested that he call for help, the son of a bitch was too proud of what he'd accomplished, which accounts for nothing."

All the older boy could do is shake his head and think. "McCoy, Leonard McCoy," he finally introduced himself as he thrust out his hand.

"Jim Kirk," the younger teen introduced himself with a handshake. He was glad that Kirk wasn't a need to know name out here. However, from the sight widening of the eyes, Leonard knew who he was.

They settle into the cave, huddling together at night to keep warm. Neither of them had thought to snag a blanket before leaving for the mountain. Right now though, the nights were warm enough not to warrant more than a snuggle and they had managed to avoid cooking. However, Jim's supplies were starting to run low and they would have to start hunting.

Jim had managed to get the phaser to working. Well, it would at least stun things. They had found that out when Jim had accidentally shot Leonard in butt and knocked him out for a good three hours.

He'd apologized profusely and his friend had laughed it off. All the older boy could say was that Jim always worked his ass off. This time around, he had just tried to take it literally, much to Jim's embarrassment.

They had both searched the mountain and looked for a safer cave, one where they could build a fire and cook. Leonard talked about trying to fish; Jim didn't have the heart to tell him that the lakes had never been stocked with fish. Another thing that the Terra-forming team had failed to notice. It was just another thing that made Jim even bitterer.

It didn't matter though, it would help relax Leonard. It would also provide water that they could boil and drink, possibly even for cooking. Jim would need to secure some cooking goods, a water purifier, and anything else he could pilfer.

He had been scoping out the houses below, making note of the dwellings that were marked with a red X, because those were likely empty. His heart clenched and sank when he saw his former house had been marked. He fervently hoped that his mother made it out alive or that the X's just meant that the houses were clear of people. His family had abandoned him, but he did not wish death upon either of them.

Just before they had moved to the other side of the mountain, Jim decided that it was time for him to gather the items they might need from the houses. Leonard was not happy about staying behind in the tree line to keep an eye out for Kodos' men or any other possible danger.

Jim would slip into a marked house, grab some goods, run to Leonard and then wait a little bit before repeating the process. He had been tempted to try to drag some mattresses or something to the mountain, but logically he knew that the item was too big to get away unnoticed.

However, he did manage to get a nice amount of covers, enough that they would be able to build themselves a nest and keep warm in the back of the cave. It had taken the very first night, which had been a cold night for the season, for them to agree to the nighttime cuddling for warmth. Now, for Jim it was more for comfort than the need to stay warm and he fervently hoped that Leonard would agree to continue.

On the first night in their new cave, Jim had managed to snag a bird for their dinner. It was small and wouldn't truly fill their stomachs, but it was better than going hungry. He smiled as he noticed Leonard sucking the marrow from the bones once all of the skin and meat had been devoured off the carcass.

Leonard scowled at Jim as he broke open a leg bone and started to suck the marrow out of it as it was. "It's nutritious and we shouldn't let it go to waste," he defended his action.

"That's fine Bones. You're the one in medical, so you should have it. You need to keep your strength up in case I get wounded or you need to run from Kodos' men," Jim smiled as he gave the older teen his new nickname.

Bones shook his head and handed Jim the other leg bone. "You hunt for our food and shit. You need some too. It's not the best tasting, but we are out to survive, not live in luxury."

Jim frowned and did as suggested. Who knew how long the animals would hold out? Long enough for the inspection team to arrive, he hoped.

When they went to bed that night Jim was happy that Bones, who hated his nickname, did not begrudge him his nighttime cuddles.

For a month, they lived like this in harmony, ignoring the smoke and stench that sometimes wafted up to the mountain, to their cave. They took turns foraging for grains, berries, tubers, and other things that they could either eat or use in medicine.

Bones would fish, never catching anything, and Jim would lay small traps to catch small game or stun birds for an easier kill. Jim was glad that he had taken the pioneer History class. At the time, he thought that learning how people lived before the time of the early modern age (which was hardly modern, though it certainly was early) would be useless knowledge. Now, just as he had for the class, he gathered nuts, which looked like acorns; and set about shelling them and then leeching them of their tannins. They did not need stomachaches from nuts.

He had it down to an art form. It would take days to leech them the proper amount and then a few more to dry them. Then he would grind them up and make a thin porridge out of the nut meal from the acorns. Sometimes they would find edible berries to throw in as well. He even experimented with some barks. However, he was not confident enough in his knowledge to risk mushrooms.

Things started to go downhill after that first month. A group of eight children arrived at their cave, one older than even Bones, the rest well under the age of ten. They pleaded for help, food, and water. Jim offered them some of his acorn porridge and found out that they had been running from Kodos all that time and that little Kevin barely made it. He had witnessed his parents shot to death as he hid quietly under the bed with his brother, who'd been caught three days prior to their arrival and executed as a traitor to the cause.

"It's a nightmare down there man. You two have been lucky, living up here. Not being hunted down like wild animals," Thomas, the eldest of them, said bitterly.

Jim pursed his lips and leaned a bit more into Bones. He felt bad for these kids, but he did not feel bad for missing that shit. They hadn't been living in luxury, but they had been smart. They had watched each other's back and made sure that they stayed safe.

They had both decided to leave the city early on. Kevin and the younger ones, he understood that they didn't exactly have the mentality to decide to leave early. However, Kevin's dead brother and Thomas had both been old enough to hide themselves and the younger survivors. It was on their heads, not Jim's that they were in this condition.

After the baths were taken it was time to fill the bellies. A small bird would no longer be enough to see them through the day. Thankfully, the larger game was still available, even if it was sparse. It was harder to catch and even harder to clean, but they would not let young children go to bed hungry. Not if he knew that there was something that they could and should do.

They were all feeling safe and secure for several weeks after the new arrivals. That was until Kodos men came a touch to close to their cave. It was time to move. There was another mountain a few miles beyond where they were. They could move there. Hopefully, there would be water and game available. Otherwise, it would be a long and dangerous trek to get food.

An hour after Kodos' men had left, Jim set about undoing all his traps. Praying that they were not the reason for the visitors. The only trap that had been disturbed had a freshly caught rabbit in it. Jim breathed a sigh of relief and made his way back to the camp where Bones and Tom were making the children gather everything they could carry. The rest would be left to the teenagers to carry. Even little Kevin had his own bedroll, which he carried proudly.

Kevin was a pleasant surprise in this whole mess. He knew what had happened to his parents. There were a few times when he buried deep into Bones' or Jim's chest and let out quiet sobs in mourning. The key word was silent. Jim had even heard Tom choke up over the loss he experienced. Little Kevin always did so quietly.

Still, with all the reasons to cry and mourn, he would softly sing cheerful songs his mother and father had taught him before their deaths. It helped the other children to see him as happy as he was. He even taught them some of his songs on the trip to the second mountain. They all sang softly and under their breaths, in case Kodos or his men were anywhere near.

After the eight-hour journey, everyone was more tired than hungry. Jim urged them to take a nap while they could. He would make sure the area was secure. He was happy to note that there seemed to be no other human presence on the mountain and the game was far more plentiful than the other area. He set up some small traps and made his way to bed, where Bones and Kevin were already snoring softly.

"Everything good?" Leonard asked quietly even as his arm made its way to circle Jim's waist.

"I think this will work. I hope the ships get here soon. I'm starting to wear out." Jim slurred as he settled in.

"Go to sleep. You'll get us through this, you have so far." Jim could only wish that he had the same optimism as his companion, this companion that he was growing very attached to. He wondered if Bones felt the same way. He hoped he did, it would be, well; perfect. He also wondered if Leonard's lips were as soft as they looked. Shit, things were getting more dangerous.

He allowed himself to relax and even sleep for a few hours, before getting up to check the few traps he had set and look for tracks, in case the men had made it this far. He nearly cheered when he noticed that he had caught a small deer. He ran back to the cave and grabbed the knife and bucket, then made his way back and slaughtered the fawn, making sure to catch the blood as he cleaned the carcass. They would eat very well for a few days. Perhaps he could try his hand at drying some of the meat for jerky. They had salt a plenty after all. The blood he could use for a soup base. Again, it was not the best tasting thing he had ever eaten; however, it was highly nutritious.

Once the fawn was properly dressed out and drained, Jim hurried back to the cave to begin curing and cooking the meat. He knew that they could finish it in one day. However, they all understood the need to ration and stretch the food as far as they could. He remembered reading about a blood cake and decided to try to cook it with the leftover acorn flour and the small amount of wheat he had pilfered from one of the empty houses.

They did learn that the X meant empty not dead. So, there was still hope for Jim's mother. It was a small comfort that he could ill afford until things were settled, one way or the other.

He packed half of the meat in a thick layer of salt and the rest of the meat and the blood mixture he threw on the low fire they had built the night before. The children woke up with growling bellies and low moans.

Jim had also thrown on a small pot of tubers that they had carried over from the other mountain. "Go with Tom and Bones and wash up," he told them. Ignoring their grumbles as he checked the meat and blood porridge mixture that would ultimately become the blood cake. Even though they were mostly without seasoning, everything smelled good.

When the hungry brood made it back, they all sat around the fire softly talking, waiting for the food. Kevin sang softly on Bones lap as the student doctor rocked him back and forth.

Life could be better, they all could have used more to eat, but Jim knew that it could be worse too. They could all be dead. Which was a very real and viable option on Tarsus IV.

A few weeks after they had moved and everyone had settled down and gone to sleep, Jim decided that he just needed some time to himself. He stepped just outside the mouth of the cave and shuddered as the cold air brushed his back. Fall was starting to nod off and they were getting frost on the ground.

The trees were bare, they had dug up all of the tubers that they could find and the game had all but died out. The children were cold and they were all slowly starving to death. Soon Jim would have to risk a trip into the city to get some warmer and smaller clothes.

It was killing him that he couldn't do more. It didn't matter than he was only fifteen himself, he was one of the children's guardians until they passed away or Starfleet saved them.

If he could have cried, he would. He was dehydrated enough to know that there would be no tears. He heard Bones approach from behind him and felt his strong arms wrap around him. "You're going out tomorrow night, you need your sleep."

"I know, I'm just- fuck, I'm scared Bones. Are we hurting the kids? We don't know that Kodos would kill them, he could offer them more than we have."

Leonard's arms tightened briefly before turning Jim around to face him. "You know that he wouldn't treat them better. He would offer them death. You're giving them hope and that's important. Believe in yourself, Kevin does, I do... we'll get through this. You'll see. Five years from now, we'll be eating well, griping about school. I'll bitch at you for throwing your towel on the floor, you'll complain about me setting the kitchen on fire. The most important part, we'll still have each other." Leonard drew Jim in tighter and kissed him as if their lips held the answer to the universe.

Jim didn't say anything after the kiss had ended, but he did look back and did something he had not done since he was a very small kid, he wished on the stars. Leonard had been correct, that didn't ease Jim's fears though.

When he snuck into the empty building the next day he did not linger. He knew what he was looking for and have zero luck finding it. Little Allison had fallen sick the night before and she needed more than they were giving her.

He saw someone's skinny pet snuffling around for food and cried as he slit the animal's throat, making sure to catch the lifeblood that was spilling from it. "I'm so sorry," Jim had heaved as he dressed the animal with a speed and knowledge he would rather not have.

Jim knew that he would be a sobbing mess if he had the time or the tears to spare. Allison and the children were his first priority though and emotions had no place when a life was at stake.

He quickly made his way home and cooked up what he could, turning the animal haunch into a thin watery soup. He slowly fed Allison and prayed that this would be enough to keep her alive. He needed her to live; there was too much death on the god-forsaken planet for it to take her too.

The next day was more thin stew with everyone huddled around Allison in the back of the cave for warmth. Just after Jim had served up the last of the animal he had killed, they heard it.

Shuttle crafts flying in the air and the ever present sound of gun fire. "Stay here," Jim urged the children as he inched his way out. He needed to make sure it was the Federation and not Klingons or Orion Slave Traders and he was the only one who could easily distinguish the crafts.

He let a small hollow laugh when he noticed the unmistakable Federation insignia on the crafts. They were saved, Allison wouldn't die. They had beat Kodos' plan and had lived. It had certainly not been easy, but they were alive.

He looked at the weak children in the cave and nodded to them. "We're saved. We need to get down there; we don't want them to leave us. Bones, I need you to carry Kevin and Tom I need you to get Allison. All the rest of you, grab a blanket and wrap up. I know it looks like a long way, but we'll get there and then they can take us off the planet."

"Jim," Bones whispered softly, "What if this is a trap?"

Jim grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. "We need help, so have faith that this is really a rescue." Everyone nodded and did as directed.

Once everyone was properly bundled, Jim grabbed his phaser and knife and began to lead the little group off. His eyes always moving, he scanned for danger from people or what little wildlife was left.

They made it down the mountain and around the other in a day's time, stopping every few hours for water, rarely for the bathroom. Their bodies had started the process of shutting down what it considered non-essential bodily functions. Jim knew that they might have lasted only another few days if the Federation had not arrived.

When they walked into town, they were swarmed with rescue workers. Jim pushing them to Kevin and Allison. Kevin wasn't as bad as Allison, but he wasn't as well as when they had met.

Leonard cozied up to Jim as the workers ushered the children away. "Hey Jim."

Jim smiled faintly as he turned to face his favorite doctor. "Yeah Bones?"

"No matter what happens next; I want you to remember that I love you and that you are a hero."

Jim couldn't respond, not verbally, he was still overwhelmed. He just hugged his boyfriend tight and finally looked forward to tomorrow.

~Fin~


End file.
